OBAMA JOINS THE CHORUS CRITICIZING LIMBAUGH SLUR

President phones student who conservative pundit termed ‘a slut’

Stepping into an emerging culture clash over women, President Barack Obama made a supportive phone call Friday to a law student who testified before Congress about the need for birth control coverage, only to be called a “slut” by Rush Limbaugh.

For Obama, it was an emphatic plunge into the latest flare-up on social issues. Democratic officeholders and liberal advocacy groups have accused Republicans of waging a “war on women” because of GOP stances on contraception and abortion rights, and Limbaugh’s tirade on his radio talk show was seen as an escalation.

In addition to her call from the president, the third-year Georgetown University law student, Sandra Fluke, was backed by members of Congress, women’s groups, and the administration and faculty at her Roman Catholic university.

Demands for Limbaugh’s sponsors to pull their ads from his rocketed through cyberspace, and at least three companies, Quicken Loans and bedding retailers Sleep Train and Sleep Number, bowed to the pressure.

Obama considers Limbaugh’s remarks “reprehensible,” according to White House spokesman Jay Carney. He said the president called Fluke to “express his disappointment that she has been the subject of inappropriate personal attacks” and to thank her for speaking out on an issue of public policy.

Obama reached Fluke by phone as she was waiting to go on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

“What was really personal for me was that he said to tell my parents that they should be proud,” a choked-up Fluke told Mitchell. “And that meant a lot because Rush Limbaugh questioned whether or not my family would be proud of me. So I just appreciated that very much.”

On Wednesday, Limbaugh unleashed a lengthy and often savage verbal assault on Fluke. “What does it say about the college coed ... who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex?” Limbaugh said. “It makes her a slut, right? …”

On Friday, a defiant Limbaugh scoffed at the criticism, saying … “when there is the slightest bit of opposition to this new welfare entitlement being created, then all of a sudden we hate women!”